Dr Karen Clarke

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About
Teaching and learning
Research
Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact
Leadership and management

About

Currently I am Course Leader and teach on Foundation Programmes in Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Programmes.

In my career, I have taught predominantly on RICS & CIOB accredited Building Surveying & the JBM and CIOB accredited Construction Management courses which in the last eleven years has primarily been Surveying & Planning students but also Civil Engineering & Construction students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Teaching subjects such as Construction (Design, Materials and Regulation), Project Management, BIM, Primavera, AutoCAD, REVIT, Engineering Surveying, Traffic Management, Engineering Science, Engineering Mathematics , Flood Risk Management , Water Supply, Geotechnics, Academic Skills and Research Methods.

Prior to that I taught on Foundation year, Civil Engineering and Construction Management courses whilst undertaking my PhD. 

My PhD is in Geotechnics and is Residual Strength of Natural Clays with Special Reference to Rate Effects. I have also worked in Industry in transport planning, design and flood risk management. 

Academic responsibilities

Senior lecturer with Special Responsibility for Foundation Year students

Qualifications

  • BEng in Civil Engineering (Kingston University) 2001
  • PhD in Residual Strength of Natural Clays with Special Reference to Rate Effects (2005)
  • Chartered Civil Engineer, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (2018)
  • Chartered Construction Manager, Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (2014)
  • Chartered Building Engineer, Member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (2014) Chartered Member (2021)
  • Associate Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (2014)
  • Fellow of the Geological Society (2014)
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017)

Teaching and learning

As a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and the Environment at Kingston University, I have a pedagogical focus on problem based learning and professionalism. I teach a wide range of subjects to students on foundation courses in all routes of Engineering Foundation Year (level 3), Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Building Surveying and Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship. Primarily I now teach Engineering Mathematics, Project Management, Building Materials, Structural Mechanics, Transport Planning, CDM, Health & Safety, BIM and Geotechnics. I am module leader for FX3005 Engineering.

Externally I was an External Examiner for BSc (hons) Construction Management and BSc (Hons) Design and Construction Management at the University of Greenwich (2018 - 2022). I am now External Examiner for MSc Building Surveying at UCEM (2022 - 2026)

Back in 2006, Maia Ibsen (Civil Engineering, Construction & Surveying) and  I secured a widening participation grant to set up a cross faculty Academic Skills Centre for construction students in both Civil Engineering and Surveying. The centre was  staffed by students trained to help their peers in all aspects of Academic Skills. The centre ran until 2011 when it merged with other centres to form SEC Academic Success Centre.

Qualifications and expertise

  • PG Cert in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2008)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2009)
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017)

Undergraduate courses taught

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

My research involves looking at Environmental Hazards principally landslides but also flood and coastal defence. This involves both laboratory testing and field work. These areas sit within the disciplines of civil engineering, geology and (physical) geography, and so my work aligns with and contributes to two themes within CEESR.

 I am a member of the Geotechnics research team.

Areas of specialism

  • Residual Strength of Clay

Scholarly affiliations

  • Fellow of the Geological Society (2014)
  • Member of the British Geotechnical Association
  • Member of the British Hydrological Society

Research student supervision

Publications

Jump to: Book Section | Conference or Workshop Item | Thesis
Number of items: 4.

Book Section

Ibsen, Maia and Clarke, Karen (2012) Construction Academic Skills Centre (CASC) : a drop-in centre to support students with their academic skills, run by trained student advisors in the Schools of Civil Engineering and Construction, and Surveying and Planning. In: Morgan, Michelle, (ed.) Improving the student experience : a practical guide for universities and colleges. Abingdon, U.K. : Routledge. pp. 169-171. ISBN 9780415598781

Conference or Workshop Item

Bromhead, E.N., Ibsen, M.-L. and Clarke, K.M. (2009) Mapping the landslide complex at St Catherine’s Point, Isle of Wight. In: Landslide Processes : from Geomorphologic Mapping to Dynamic Modelling; 06-07 Feb 2009, Strasbourg, France.

Bromhead, E.N. and Clarke, K.M. (2003) Basal incorporation in mudslides at the slide-flow interface : some remaining questions. In: Occurrence and Mechanisms of Flow-Like Landslides in Natural Slopes and Earthfills; 14-16 May 2003, Sorrento, Italy.

Thesis

Clarke, Karen (2005) Residual shear strength with special reference to rate effects. (PhD thesis), Kingston University, .

This list was generated on Fri Mar 24 06:55:25 2023 GMT.

Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact

Presented at :

CIOB Novus: Skills for the Future Workshop : 24th November 2014

Title: "An Academic's Perspective on the Importance of the relationship between Higher Education & Practice". 

CIOB Novus London Region Dissertation Workshop 12th April 2016

Hosted:

CIOB Novus : "How to be Employment Ready" March 2015

Professional and scholarly affiliations

  • Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (2018)
  • Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (2014)
  • Member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (2014)
  • Associate Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (2014)

Leadership and management

 I contribute to Leadership and Management across a range of University processes, community engagement and student needs:

  • Saturday Club : Civil Engineering Sessions 2017 - present
  • Athena Swann Working Group Member for School of Engineering and the Environments
  • Academic Misconduct Panel Member 
  • Foundation Review Task & Finish Group (2018-19)
  • Clearing and Engineering Foundation Year Admissions